Description

This accessible and user-friendly resource will help a wide range of adults support children and young people with anxiety. Clear information on the nature of anxiety is combined with helpful ideas, practical strategies and resources to help adults feel confident in understanding and managing the emotional well-being of children and young people.

Supporting Children and Young People with Anxiety cuts through the literature and provides practical support based on sound psychological theory and evidence-based practice. Intervention programmes and suggested strategies have been tried and tested in schools and colleges, with young people and families, and can be adapted for use with groups, individual children or parents. Presuming no prior experience on the part of the reader, the authors acknowledge the challenges involved in recognising anxiety and delivering tailored treatment, and emphasise the role of prevention and early intervention.

All resources are provided as photocopiable and downloadable resources which can be easily customised for use with children and parents. This essential text will prove an invaluable resource for worried parents, students, teachers and carers, enabling them to soothe, support and empower the young people in their care.

Reviews

This useful practical guide to understanding and managing anxiety is most timely. The external pressures on children and young people are many; the incidence of mental health problems is increasing and troubling youngsters and their families. Teachers, assistants, youth workers and parents will welcome this book with a loud hurrah as it provides clear information about the nature of anxiety and, best of all, there are many helpful ideas and practical programmes which will enable adults to feel confident in using tried and tested resources which have been shown to reduce anxiety in most children and young people. The authors, Liz Herrick and Barbara Redman-White, have many years’ experience in working with troubled youngsters. This book is an excellent distillation of their understanding of anxiety and of what works when managing it. It is a much-needed resource for schools, colleges, childcare settings and parents.

Liz Herrick and Barbara Redman-White are highly experienced and talented psychologists with a detailed understanding of how children may be supported when psychological problems occur. For the adults around young people – parents and carers, teachers, assistants and young people themselves, this book will be genuine help in helping to overcome anxiety. Around one in five young people experience significant mental health issues and there is evidence that this is on the rise – anxiety, depression and anger can all be debilitating and impact on young people and those around them. Liz and Barbara cut through the literature to give useful and practical strategies to soothe and support young people and defeat crippling anxiety. Worried parents, students, and empathic teachers and carers will make good use of this book and empower young people to take back control of their lives.

Table of Contents

Chapter Three: Understanding Child and Adolescent Development in Relation to Anxiety

Part 2: Managing Anxiety at School

Chapter Four: Whole School Support

Chapter Five: Anxiety in the Classroom

Chapter Six: Preparing to Work with Small Groups and/or Individuals

Part 3: Managing Anxiety at Home

Chapter Seven: Support and Advice for Parents/Carers

Chapter Eight: Creating a Healthy Lifestyle

Part 4: Practical Interventions

Chapter Nine: Ten Week Intervention Programme for Small Groups

Chapter Ten: A Model for Working with Individual Students

Part 5: Appendices

Appendix 1: Worksheets for Group Sessions

Appendix 2: Missions for Group Sessions

Appendix 3: Worksheets for Working with Individuals

Appendix 4: PowerPoint and Information Sheets for Parent Workshops

Bibliography

Useful Web sites

Index

About the Authors

Elizabeth Herrick is a Chartered Educational Psychoogist, former Principal Eductional Psychologist with Southampton Local Authoority UK, currently working as an Independent Consultant with schools and families in Southampton and Hampshire, UK.

Barbara Redman-White is an Educational Psychologist currently working in the Cayman Islands, with more than 20 years of experience as an Educational Psychologist in the UK.